Weft yarn control device

ABSTRACT

A weft yarn control device for looms having a control unit and a mechanism functioning in cooperation therewith for supporting and guiding a plurality of weft yarns from separate sources of supply and for enabling individual selection of the yarns in accordance with a desired pattern.

Jan. 1, 1974 United States Patent [191 Budzyna 3,565,l2l 2/!971 Svaty etal. 139/122 W WEFT YARN CONTROL DEVICE inventor: Edward S. Budzyna, EastDouglas,

Mass.

Primary Examiner-Henry S. Jaudon Attorney-John R. Bronaugh et all.

[22] Filed: [211 ABSTRACT App]. No.: 258,554

A weft yarn control device for looms having a control unit and amechanism functioning in cooperation [52] US. 139/122 W [5]] Int. D03d47/38 139/122 W therewith for supporting and guiding a plurality of weftyarns from separate sources of supply and for en- [58] Field ofSearch..................,.............

abling individual selection of the yarns in accordance with a desiredpattern.

[56] References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 3.548.886 l2/l970 Scherillo139/122 W 4 Claims, 5 Drawing Figures PATENTED JAN 1 I974 sum 2 OF 2BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION In looms which utilize weft yarn that isfurnished from an outside source and is not carried to and fro throughthe shed by the shuttle or carrier itself, it is common practice toinsert each pick of weft by two reciprocating elements. In this form ofshuttleless loom the element which introduces the weft into the warpshed is known as the inserting carrier and that which receives or hastransferred to it the introduced weft to be drawn through the remainderof the shed is known as the weft receiving or. extending carrier. Inanother form of shuttleless loom a small projectile is used which gripsthe end of the weft to be inserted and draws it through the warp shed.

In the weaving of particular types of fabric, it is desirable to mix theweft yarns by drawing them from separate sources of supply so as todistribute variations therein and give said fabric a uniform overallappearance. By mixing weft yarns from different sources of supplypattering effects can be had by utilizing weft yarns of a differentcolor to form stripes, for example, and is accomplished by selecting onecolor for a given number of picks and subsequently selecting a secondand then a third and so on. A striped warp in combination with themixing of colored weft increases the patterning possibilitiessubstantially by providing unlimited plaid and check pattern effects.

Weft yarn control devices for looms of the type to which the presentinvention is applicable are shown and described in US. Pat. No.3,593,754 to Anthony J. Tosches as well as US. Pat. No. 3,467,148 to R.H. Brown Jr. and each discloses a means for selecting and presenting anyone ofa plurality of weft yarns from separate sources to the means usedfor inserting the weft into a warp shed.

Each of thesedevices receives its instructions from a selective controlunit and although there are substantial differences for transmitting theselections of respective selective control units, they each utilize aplurality of super-imposed pivotable yarn positioner and guide leversfor moving the various weft yarns individual thereto between active andinactive positions.

The devices shown and described in the above mentioned patents haveperformed their intended functions satisfactorily; however, in view ofthe large number of elements making up the devices and their closeassociation for selectively moving each weft yarn between its active andinactive positions, the devices are considered to be quite complex,costly to manufacture and require very accurate and closely maintainedoperational settings. With the plurality of pivotable yarn positionerand guide levers being super-imposed, the weft yarns guided by each arealso disposed one above the other and their close proximity requireseach weft yarn to be maintained under the'proper amount of tension tohold said weft yarns in separation to prevent their entanglement. Eachof the weft yarns when selected and moved to its active position isacted upon by-Ja socalled yarn depressor, the function of which is tomove a selected weft yarn downwardly to a position where the insertingmember will engage the weft yarn and carry it into the warp shed. Toenable the yarn depressor to engage and move any one of the plurality ofweft yarns selected, the settings of the super-imposed yarn positionerand guide fingers are very critical. The yarn depressor moves through apredetermined elliptical pathway and theyarn positioner and guide leversmust be located so that when their respective yarn is selected it willbe moved into the pathway of said yarn depressor. The margin for errorfor these settings is very slim for if there is too great a distancebetween these guide levers, the uppermost yarn will not be engaged bythe yarn depressor and to close a setting will create an interferencebetween adjacent guide levers causing more than one of the latter tomove its weft yarn to a position to be engaged by said yarn depressor.With regards to maintaining the correct amount of tension on theplurality of weft yarns, a loss of such tension in anyone or more of thewefts can cause interference with the adjacent wefts to the extent ofcreating an entanglement between a pair of weft yarns sufficient tocause an unse lected weft yarn to be moved with a selected yarn andcarried into the warp shed by the inserting carrier.

The weft yarn control device according to the present invention utilizessubstantially fewer components and has overcome the undesirableconditions described above which exist with known prior art devices. Themechanism of the invention maintains a substantial separation of theplurality of weft yarns available for selection and insertion into thewarp shed. The guide for each weft yarn when selected moves itsrespective yarn to a position common to the remainder of the yarns whenin selected position thereby assuring positive engagement by the yarndepressor for presentation to the inserting carrier.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The weft yarn control device of the presentinvention includes a plurality of slidable weft guide elementsselectively and separatey movable by a pattern control unit. Thecommands of the control unit are transmitted to the weft guide element,in accordance with a predetermined pattern, by separate interconnectinglinkages individualto each of said guide elements. One end of each guideelement is interconnected by its respective linkage to the patterncontrol unit and the opposite ends are provided with guiding eyeletsthrough which single weft threads from separate sources of supply areadapted to extend. As each weft yarn is selected there is simultaneousmovement of two guide elements, that is to say, as a-selected weft isbeing moved to its active position, the previous selected weft is beingmoved to its storage position.

The guide element for each weft yarn when selected moves in alongitudinal direction which places its guiding eyelet and respectiveweft yarn in a position common to each of the other guiding eyelets andtheir respective wefts when selected. The device maintains a properamount a separation between the individual weft yarns and assuresprecise positioning when selected for pickup by the inserting carrier.

It is a general object of the invention to provide a weft yarn controldevice for looms which in accordance with a predetermined pattern, willselectively present any one of a plurality of weft yarns to the meansfor its insertion into a shed of warp threads.

A further object of the invention is to provide a weft yarn controldevice which while moving any one of a plurality'of available weft yarnsto a common active position, will move any one of the previouslyselected weft yarns to its inactive or storage positions.

A further and more specified object of the invention is to provide animproved weft control for looms of simplified construction, one that isrelatively inexpensive to manufacture and with long life expectancy.

These and other objects of the invention will become more fully apparentby reference to the appended claims and as the following detaileddescription proceeds in reference to the figures of drawing wherein:

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG. 1 is a perspective view of aportion of the right hand side of a loom showing the device according tothe invention applied thereto,

FIG. 2 is a front elevation showing the means for slidably supportingthe plurality of weft guide elements,

FIG. 3 is a side elevation, partially in section, of the supportingmeans in FIG. 2 showing by means of solid lines a weft guide element inoperating position and by means of phantom lines the same in weftstorage position,

FIG. 4 is a perspective view of the pattern control unit for selectivelymoving the weft guide elements between their operating and weft storagepositions, and

FIG. 5 is a side elevation showing further detail of the pattern controlunit in FIG. 4.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT As the general construction andoperation of a loom, to which the present invention is applicable, iswell known and familiar to those conversant in the art, and as theinvention is entirely concerned with a weft yarn control device for suchlooms, it is only considered necessary here to illustrate and describethose parts which are directly concerned with a preferred form of thepresent invention.

In FIG. I a weft inserting carrier is shown at and is fixed to the endof a flexible tape 11 which moves through a tape guide 12 and which iswrapped about and unwrapped from a tape wheel within a housing 13disposed at the side of the loom. While this invention will be describedin connection with a tape type shuttleless loom, it is to be understoodthat it can also be used effectively with other types of shuttlelesslooms.

Warp yarns 14 pass through a conventional harness arrangement 15 that iseffective to form shed openings 16 into which the inserting carrier 10enters to carry with it any one of a plurality of weft yarns identifiedin FIG. 1 by Y-l, Y-2, Y-3 and Y4.

The usual form of reed 16' carried on a reciprocating lay beam (notshown) serves to beat each inserted length of weft into the fell of thefabric. Each of the weft yarns Y-l, Y-2, Y-3 and Y-4 is drawn from aseparate source (not shown) and passed through individual tensioningdevices, one of which is shown in FIG. 1 for weft yarn Y-2 and isidentified by numeral 17. From the tensioning devices the weft yarnsextend to and pass through a weft yarn detector 18 which will uponbreakage or absence of any one of said yarns cause the loom to stop.

Intermediate the weft yarn detector 18 and the shed opening 16 a weftyarn positioner forming a part of the invention is provided and isidentified generally by numeral 19. This weft yarn positioner as shownin FIGS. 1, 2 and 3 includes a support housing 20 with arcuated top andbottom surfaces 21 and 22 respectively that are interconnected bytapered sides 23 and 24. A housing cover 25 of the same generalconfiguration as housing 20 is attached to the latter by means of screws26. A plurality of spring biased yarn positioner fingers are slidablycarried within the support housing 20 and as shown in FIG. 2 areidentified by numerals 27, 28, 29 and 30.

The upper end of each yarn positioner finger has a linkage element inthe form of a Bowden Wire 31 fixed thereto which extends generallyupwardly and through a guide fitting 32 assembled in the arcuated top 21of the support housing 20. From the guide fittings 32 each of the BowdenWire linkages extend to and are caused to be actuated by a patterncontrol unit that is depicted generally in FIGS. 1 and 4 by numeral 33,and will be more fully described hereinafter.

The lower end of each yarn positioner finger 27, 28, 29 and 30 isprovided with an integrally formed weft yarn guide eyelet 34 throughwhich weft yarns Y-l, Y-2, Y-3 and Y-4, respectively, extend. As shownin FIG. 1 the yarn positioner finger 29 is in operating position withits weft yarn Y-3 extending to the shed opening 16. The remaining threeyarn positioner fingers 27, 28 and 30 are retracted and are holdingtheir respective weft yarns in the weft storage position. When in thisposition, the ends of the stored weft threads are held by the combinedthread cutter and binder device shown at 35.

The lower portion of the support housing 20 is provided with guidechannels 36 for each of the yarn positioner fingers 27, 28, 29 and 30,the channels being disposed in such a way that the yarn eyelets 34 ofeach of said fingers is located at substantially the same location whenlocated in operating position.

A outwardly extending stud 37 is fixed to each yarn positioner fingerintermediate the ends thereof and is situated so as to protrudeoutwardly through a slot 38 provided in the housing cover 25. Springs 39provide the means for biasing each yarn positioner finger toward itsoperating position by having one end thereof attached to a stud 37 andthe opposite end to an integrally formed ear 40 at the lower end of thehousing cover 25.

Referring now to FIGS. 4 and 5, the pattern control unit 33 foreffecting selected actuation of each of the yarn positioner fingers isof box-like structure having spaced plate-like side walls 41 and 42 anda planar bottom member 43. This bottom member 43 serves as a means forattaching the unit by any suitable means (not shown) to the frame 44 ofthe loom (FIG. 1).

The pattern control unit 33 is actuated by a drive shaft 45 which isoperatively connected to any suitable source of rotary motion on theloom (not shown). The drive shaft 45 has fixed thereon a drive gear 46which is meshed with gear 47 to rotate shaft 48 in the directionindicated by arrow 49.

Shaft 48 is journaled in aligned openings provided in the side walls 41and 42 of the pattern control unit 33. Immediately adjacent to thedriven gear 47 shaft 48 has mounted thereon a gear 50 which is effectivein transmitting the rotary movement of shaft 48 to a gear 51 via anintermediate idler gear 52.

Gear 51 is fixed on a shaft 53 which is also journaled in alignedopenings provided in the side walls 41 and 42 of the pattern controlunit 33. Both shaft 48 and shaft 53 are provided with cam membersintermediate their ends for actuating the various elements within thepattern control unit and thereby selectively moving any one of the yarnpositioner fingers between operating and storage positions.

A plurality of identical elements are housed within the pattern controlunit 33 but for the purpose of brevity the detailed description thereofwill be confined to the elements in FIG. 5 which illustrates the meansfor actuating a single yarn positioner finger while simultaneouslydeactivating :another.

In FIG. 5 a pattern drum is shown at 54 which carries a perforatedpattern tape 55 and is adapted to advance this tape to controlpatterning. Referring to FIG. 4, this pattern drum is fixed on andcaused to rotate with a shaft 56 that extends outwardly from within unit33 and beyond its side wall 42. In close proximity with the outer sidewall 42 shaft 56 has a notched driven wheel 57 fixed thereon which intimed relation to the weaving cycle is caused to be indexed one notch bya single toothed drive wheel 58. As shown in FIG. 4 this single tootheddrive wheel 58 is rotated in the direction of the indicating arrow 59 bythat portion of shaft 48 which extends outwardly beyond side wall 42.

To hold the pattern drum 54 stationary after each indexing movement ofthe notched driven wheel 57 a locking arm 60 having a roller member 61is provided. This locking arm 60 is pivotally supported on a stud 62 andby means of a torsion spring 63 said locking arm is biased in adirection to continuously urge its roller member 61 into meshingrelation with the notches of the drive wheel 57, thereby restrictingfurther rotative movement thereof until again indexed.

Referring again to FIG. 5, a rod member 64 is fixed between the walls 41and 42 and is adapted to support for pivotal movement a plurality ofdouble armed levers generally indicated by numeral 65. There are two ofthese double armed levers 65 for each yarn positioner finger one ofwhich is effective in initiating movement of a finger to operatingposition and the other of which is effective to move a finger to theyarn storage position.

Each double armed lever includes a generally horizontally disposed firstarm 66 and a downwardy extending second arm 67. A pattern sensing rod 68is attached to the end of each first arm 66, as at 69, and extendsdownwardly through a rod guide member 70. The lower ends of the sensingrods contact the pattern tape 55. A coil spring 71 having one endattached to the first arm 66 and its opposite end to the rod guidemember 70 as at 72 provides a biasing force that continually urges thedouble armed levers in a counter-clockwise direction as viewed in FIG.5. i

As the pattern drum is indexed the sensing rods maintain frictionalcontact with the pattern tape 55. When a perforation in the pattern tapecomes into alignment with the lower end of the sensing rod, coil spring71 will seek to return to it free length causing the double armed lever65 individual thereto to pivot in a counterclockwise direction and itssensing rod 68 to enter said pattern perforation. The pattern drum 54 isof conventional design and includes the usual circumferentially disposedgrooves (not shown) which allow a sensing rod 68 to enter a patternperforation a distance sufficient to obtain the required pivotalmovement of the second arm 67. The lower end ofthe second arm 67 extendsthrough an opening (not shown) in a slide bar 73 that is horizontallyslidable within the limits of a slide bar housing 74.

Each slide bar 73 includes a second opening (not shown) through which agenerally vertically disposed push rod 75 may extend. These push rods 75are supported for longitudinal movement adjacent their upper ends by aguide member 76.

In their unselected positions, the lower ends of the push rods 75 restupon a rod support 77.

When a doubled armed lever 65 is caused to pivot counter-clockwise, itssecond arm 67 moves the slide bar 73 to the right as shown in FIG. 5 andat the same time slides the lower end of the push rod 75 from itsresting point on rod support 77 to a position on the upper surface of anelevator bar 78. Elevator bar 78 is carried on one end of a lever 79which adjacent its opposite end is pivotally assembled on rod member 80.On the side of lever 79 and intermediate its ends a cam follower 81 isassembled by means of a bolt 82. The cam follower 81 is held in contactwith the outer periphery of cam 83 fixed on shaft 48 by means of a coilspring 84. One end of spring 84 attaches to a retainer bar 85 and itsopposite end to a retainer clip 86 which assemblies on lever 79 by meansof a screw 87.

Rotation of shaft 48 and cam 83 carried thereon effect continuouspivotal movement of lever 79 and the raising and lowering of theelevator bar 78. When the elevator bar 78 is moving upwardly, the pushrods 75 which have been moved from the rod support 77 onto said bar willalso be raised.

The perforations in the pattern tape are arranged in aligned pairs so asto effect pivotal movement of two levers 65 and the movement of two pushrods 75 from the rod support 77 onto the elevator bar 78.

The raising of two push rods 75 effects the required simultaneousmovement hereinbefore referred to wherein one push rod initiates theselected movement of a yarn positioner finger to its operating positionwhile the other is effective in the moving of a previously selectedfinger to its yarn storage position.

Within and adjacent the upper end of the pattern control unit 33 aplurality of selector levers 88 are pivotably supported at one end on arod 89 (FIG. 5). The opposite ends of these selector levers 88 extendthrough and beyond a slotted guide bracket 98 (FIG. 4) which is attachedto the forward upper end portion of side walls 41 and 42 by such meansas screws 91 (one only shown). Those ends of the selector levers 88which extend forwardly beyond. the slotted guide bracket are providedwith adjustable linkage connectors 92 and are pivotably carried on saidlevers by means of pins 93.

The number of selector levers 88 and the adjustable linkage connectors92 carried thereby are equal in number to the number of yarn positionerfingers 27, 28, 29 and 30. The lower end of each of the adjustablelinkage connectors 92 has a Bowden Wire 31 attached thereto as at 94,thus providing a direct connection between each selector lever 88 and ayarn positioner finger slidably carried in the support housing 28.

As shown in FIG. 4 the individual Bowden Wires extend through guidefittings 95 assembled in a shelf bracket 96, which, in turn, is suitablyattached to the pattern control unit 33 below the adjustable linkageconnectors 92.

Individual coil springs 97 provide a biasing force on each of theselector levers 88 which continually urges them toward their solid linepositions shown in FIG. 4. The upper end of each spring 97 attached toits respective selector lever as at 98 and the opposite ends thereof areattached to the retainer bar 85 as at 99.

To limit the amount of pivotal movement of the selector levers 88 anadjustable stop screw 100 is provided for each of said levers and thesescrews are carried in alignment with the latter by a support bar 101which is also attached by means of screws 91 to side walls 41 and 42.

In close proximity with each selector lever 88 there is provided asubstantially v-shaped latching lever indicated generally by numeral 102that is pivotally supported on a rod 103. This latching lever includes arearwardly extending first finger 104 and generally vertically extendingsecond finger 105 and as shown in FIG. is biased in a counter-clockwisedirection by a coil spring 106. One end of coil spring 106 connects tothe upper end of the second finger 105 and its opposite end to a slottedretainer braket 107 which attaches to the upper end of side walls 41 and42 by means of screws 108 (one only shown in FIG. 4).

The upper portion of the second finger 105 of the latching lever 102 isof lesser width than the lower portion and defines a shelf 109 which isoperatively associated with a laterally extending stud 110 disposedintermediate the ends of each selector lever 88. Stud 110 when in thephantom line position shown in FIG. 5 is effectve in holding theselector lever individual thereto in its uppermost position which isalso shown by phantom lines. When stud l is in the solid line positionas shown in FIG. 5 its respective selector lever is caused to be pivoteddownwardly by the action of coil spring 97 seeking to return to its freelength. Both the selector lever and the latching levers are actuated bythe push rods 75 and will be described in further detail hereinafter.

Within the pattern control unit 33 a clearing cam 111 is fixed on andcaused to rotate with shaft 53. A cam follower 112 rotatably supportedby an arm 113 is caused to maintain frictional contact with the outerperiphery of cam 111 by means ofa coil spring 114. One end of thisspring attaches to the retainer bar 85 and its opposite end to the arm113. Arm 113 is fixed on a shaft 115 which is mounted for oscillatingmovement in accordance with the dictates of the clearing cam 111.

A second arcuated arm 116 is also fixed for oscillating movement onshaft 115 and, depending from the latter, its lower end terminates inthe form ofa hub 117 in which is fixed a laterally extending clearingrod 118.

In timed relation to the selective movement of the selector levers 88the commands of the clearing cam 111 are transmitted to the arcuated arm116 which moves the clearing rod 118 in a clockwise direction. Movementof the clearing rod in this manner pivots the previous selected levers65 in a like direction causing their slide bars 73 to move rearwardlyand slide the previously selected push rods f75 from the elevator bar 78back to their initial position on the rod support 77.

To summarize the operation the pattern drum 54 with its pattern tape 55is incrementally advanced in timed relation to the weaving cycle. Theperforations in accordance with some predetermined patternare arrangedin pairs on the pattern tape so that when a pair of said perforationscome into alignment with two of the sensing rods 68, the latter throughaction of springs 71 will be caused to enter therein. This motion pivotsthe two levers 65 associated with the sensing rods in acounter-clockwise direction causing their respective slide bars 73 tomove in a direction which slides the lower ends of two respective pushrods from the rod support 77 onto the elevator bar 78. At this time theelevator bar is raised by cam 83 which also raises the two selected pushrods 75.

The upper end of one push rod 75 pushes directly upon the lower side ofa selector lever 88 and pivots it upwardly until its stud is in aposition to permit the latching lever 102 to move in a counter-clockwisedirection through the action of coil spring 106. Stud 110 is then causedto rest upon shelf 109 and the previously selected selector lever andthe yarn positioner finger individual thereto are held in their inactiveor yarn storage position.

The upper end of the other of the two selected push rods 75 pushesdirectly on the underside of the first finger 104 of the latching lever102 causing the latter to pivot in a clockwise direction as viewed inFIG. 5. When the latching lever has pivoted a distance sufficient forits shelf 109 to clear stud 110 of its respective selector lever 88, thelatter by action of spring 97 is pulled downwardly and the yarnpositioner finger individual thereto is placed in yarn feeding oroperating position.

After one yarn positioner finger is moved to its yarn storage positionand another has been placed in operating position the clearing cam istimed to move the clearing rod 118 in a direction which through itsassociation with levers 65 and slide bars 73 moves the selected pushrods back to their initial position on the rod support 77. This motionalso lifts the sensing rods 68 to permit indexing of the pattern drum.The loom will continue to weave with weft yarn from the selected yarnpositioner finger until another pair of perforations come into alignmentwith the sensing rods 68 at which time the cycle will again be repeated.

Although the present invention has been described in connection with apreferred embodiment, it is to be understood that modifications andvariations may be resorted to without departing from the spirit andscope of the invention as those skilled in the art will readilyunderstand. Such modifications and variations are considered to bewithin the purview and scope of the invention and the appended claims.

I claim:

1. In a mechanism for positioning a selected weft yarn in a position forinsertion into the warp shed by a suitable weft carrier, the improvementcomprising:

a plurality of yarn positioning fingers including means'enabling eachfinger to operatively engage its associated yarn;

means mounting said plurality of yarn positioning fingers for slidingmovement between an operative position where a yarn is in position forreception by the yarn inserting means and a storage position where theyarn cannot be received by the yarn inserting means;

said mounting means being constructed in such a way that the yarnengaging portion of each of said positioning fingers is located atsubstantially the same location when in said operating position;

individual operating means for directly or positively moving a selectedyarn positioning finger to its desired position;

said individual operating means including a separate controllever'operatively associated with each said yarn positioner finger andindividual latching means operatively associated with each said controllever for locking the latter and its respective yarn positioner fingerin the storage position and releasing the same to the operatingposition; independent and selectively controlled linkage members foreach said control lever and latching means with actuating means foreffecting simultaneous movement of a selected control lever and aselected latching means whereby said selected lever and its associatedyarn positioning finger are moved toward storage position whilereleasing another control lever operatively associated with saidselected latching means to operating position in accordance with thedictates of said operating means. 2. The mechanism according to claim 1wherein said independent and selectively controlled linkage memberscomprise a generally vertically disposed and slidable push rod for eachcontrol lever and latching means.

3. The mechanism according to claim 2 wherein said individual operatingmeans includes pattern controlled selection levers for selecting andpositioning a pair of said push rods to be actuated by said operatingmeans.

4. The mechanism according to claim 3 wherein said operating meansfurther comprises a cam controlled elevator arm for simultaneouslyraising a selected pair of said push rods into operative engagement withthe control lever and latching means operatively associated therewith.

1. In a mechanism for positioning a selected weft yarn in a position forinsertion into the warp shed by a suitable weft carrier, the improvementcomprising: a plurality of yarn positioning fingers including meansenabling each finger to operatively engage its associated yarn; meansmounting said plurality of yarn positioning fingers for sliding movementbetween an operative position where a yarn is in position for receptionby the yarn inserting means and a storage position where the yarn cannotbe received by the yarn inserting means; said mounting means beingconstructed in such a way that the yarn engaging portion of each of saidpositioning fingers is located at substantially the same location whenin said operating position; individual operating means for directly orpositively moving a selected yarn positioning finger to its desiredposition; said individual operating means including a separate controllever operatively associated with each said yarn positioner finger andindividual latching means operatively associated with each Said controllever for locking the latter and its respective yarn positioner fingerin the storage position and releasing the same to the operatingposition; independent and selectively controlled linkage members foreach said control lever and latching means with actuating means foreffecting simultaneous movement of a selected control lever and aselected latching means whereby said selected lever and its associatedyarn positioning finger are moved toward storage position whilereleasing another control lever operatively associated with saidselected latching means to operating position in accordance with thedictates of said operating means.
 2. The mechanism according to claim 1wherein said independent and selectively controlled linkage memberscomprise a generally vertically disposed and slidable push rod for eachcontrol lever and latching means.
 3. The mechanism according to claim 2wherein said individual operating means includes pattern controlledselection levers for selecting and positioning a pair of said push rodsto be actuated by said operating means.
 4. The mechanism according toclaim 3 wherein said operating means further comprises a cam controlledelevator arm for simultaneously raising a selected pair of said pushrods into operative engagement with the control lever and latching meansoperatively associated therewith.